Review: Somon Air 737 Business Class Dushanbe To Dubai

Somon Air is the sole private airline (versus state-owned Tajik Air) in Tajikistan. We flew from Dushanbe to Dubai aboard a 737-900ER, the crown jewel of the fleet. While I’d rate the flight experience as good overall, Somon Air has some issues to address.

I outlined our airport experience in this facetious report on Dushanbe Airport, but omitted the check-in experience. The check-in agents spoke no English. None. Not a word. It was only through hand gestures and eventually a pen and paper we were able to communicate our wishes for seat assignments.

While Dushanbe Airport has a CIP Lounge, Somon Air business class passengers are not given complimentary access. We later found we could have paid $30 for some stale sandwiches and soft drinks, but spent the time in the terminal area instead…where wi-fi did not work.

Finally it was time to board, about 35 minutes prior to departure. No announcement was made. The gate agents showed up from downstairs and everyone assembled to board.

Somon Air Business Class Seat

Onboard we encountered a rather colorful interior featuring four rows of 2-2 seating. The seat was just like you’d find on a domestic USA flight in the front cabin, perhaps with just a bit more legroom. Recline was manually controlled by a single knob. The seat also included a footrest that folded down from the seat in front.

Ben took these later in the flight:

The seat was worn out and lacked padding, surprising for such a new aircraft. Even though the aircraft was equipped with personal IFE and universal power outlet (both in the center console), neither functioned.

The crew smiled and claimed, “The license is finished.”

Alrighty…

Notice the detail on the bulkhead walls as well as the Boing Sky Interior.

Somon Air Business Class Meal

Prior to takeoff we were offered a choice of beverage and opted for water, served room temperature. The cabin was sweltering hot and this is one instance I would have enjoyed some ice cubes.

Even the individual air nozzles did not help, though the cabin eventually cooled once we were in the air.

Candy was also offered before takeoff.

No menus were distributed, but dinner service began shortly after takeoff. First came a packaged towelette and a ramekin containing raw almonds, cashews and raisins. We were offered “chicken or beef” for dinner and also a choice of beverage.

Ben ordered white wine so I ordered red wine just to see what was on offer.

But look at the presentation. You have to admire the effort. I loved the wine glasses.

Soon after, tablecloths were laid. While I appreciated the silk tablecloths and the Somon Air logo embroidered on, they were dirty. Clearly they were re-used on multiple flights without being washed. Good thing a tray was placed over them.

I think my rolled chicken turned out better than Ben’s fish, but it was not a very good meal. I feared the cold cuts and cheese were highly processed and not real, the bread was terrible, and the chicken was not especially flavorful or warm. But the dill potatoes were fabulous.

After dinner I ordered coffee, which was Nescafe powered. Great cup and saucer, though.

Somon Air Business Class Service

Service was warm and friendly even though the cabin crew did not speak much English. I appreciated very much that FAs were diligent in keeping glasses full and managed not just to force a smile, but seem genuinely friendly.

The cabin was only booked 3/16 (one man aggressively tried to self-upgrade, but ultimately failed) which may have helped, but the crew clearly cared.

Somon Air Business Class Seat Smoking

Every 30 minutes we smelled cigarette smoke. It was 100% unmistakable. Most likely, the captain and first officer were smoking from the flight deck. I asked a FA about this and her response was rather hilarious:

Somon Air Business Class IFE

With the in-seat power and video monitors turned out, the only thing we had to pass the time was the in-flight magazine. Ben details it here.

I enjoyed an article interviewing the In-Flight Senior Service Manager, Brigitte Wareham the most.

Question: The cabin crew members are the face of the airline. What is expected from them?

Answer: Cabin crew are selected and recruited for their customer relations’ skills. They should love to interact with people and should be warm and compassionate. They must be healthy and able to work under pressure. Last but not least, they should also be good-looking.

Oh, okay. Good to know.

Somon Air Business Class Lavatory

The lavatory was clean but lacked any sort of special amenities.

CONCLUSION

We left early and landed on time in Dubai. The crew was nice. At least we had a real business class seat rather rather than a blocked middle. The crockery was excellent, the food not so much. The pilots smoked. Yeah, a decent flight overall.

I wish I could compare Somon to Tajik Air, but I’d fly Somon Air again. The cigarette smoke is absolutely annoying though. I hope former Delta Captain Thomas W. Hallam II, who is CEO of Somon Air, will instruct his crew members to refrain from smoking during flight.

About Author

Matthew

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he
travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 120
countries over the last decade. Working both in the aviation industry
and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in the New York
Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, BBC, Fox News,
CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Al Jazeera, Toronto Star, and on NPR. Studying
international relations, American government, and later obtaining a
law degree, Matthew has a plethora of knowledge outside the travel
industry that leads to a unique writing perspective. He has served in
the United States Air Force, on Capitol Hill, and in the White House.
His Live and Let's Fly blog shares the latest news in the airline
industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs and promotions, and
detailed reports of his worldwide travel. His writings on
penandpassport.com offer more general musings on life from the eyes of a frequent traveler. He also founded awardexpert.com, a
highly-personalized consulting service that aids clients in the
effective use of their credit card points and frequent flyer miles.
Clients range from retirees seeking to carefully use their nest egg of
points to multinational corporations entrusting Matthew with the
direction and coordination of company travel.

5 Comments

I had the same issues, I flew UtAir connecting in Moscow to Baku. At checkin no one knew how to checkin for a connecting flights and it took half an hour to check me in and a lot of phone calls; all the while no one spoke English and they kept on shouting BAKU at me.

In the departure lounge it was the morning rush and there were four flights leaving at once and there were no announcements for any of them. Even worse there was no flight information displayed at any of the gates and the information screen wasn’t very accurate about flight times and gates. In the end we found some Americans who were told the flight was delayed by three hours at checkin, but no announcements were ever made about the delay and it was never shown on the iformation screen.

By the time our flight was ready to board the terminal was empty and the shops closed so it was easy to figure out which gate we should go to.